The House of Representatives yesterday increased campaign spending limits for candidates contesting elective offices, raising the maximum presidential campaign expenditure from N5 billion to N10 billion; and governorship’s, from N1 billion to N3 billion.

It also passed an amendment mandating the real-time electronic transmission of election results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

These were part of the passage of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2025, following clause-by-clause consideration of the report of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, chaired by Adebayo Balogun.

Under the approved Clause 93(2), spending limits for National Assembly candidates were also increased, with senatorial candidates now allowed to spend up to N500 million, up from N100 million; and House of Representatives candidates, N250 million from the previous N70 million.

For state constituencies, the campaign expense ceiling was raised from N30 million to N100 million; chairmanship candidates, from N30 million to N60 million; councillorship candidates, N10 million from N5 million.

The House also approved a provision restricting individual or corporate donations to a maximum of N500 million per candidate.

Democracy no longer for the masses – Political experts

Speaking on the issue, a political scientist Prof. Gbade Ojo, said the rising cost of politics has fundamentally altered the nature of Nigeria’s democracy.

“By this development, the implication is that our democracy is no longer for the masses. It is no longer a government of the people, by the people and for the people. What we now have is a government of the rich, by the rich and for the rich”, he said.

Ojo noted that the situation systematically shuts competent public servants out of the political space.

“No public servant retires with the hope of contesting. Not a vice chancellor of a university. Not even a career ambassador. This denies the state the services of experienced and highly trained individuals who have been developed and retrained over the course of their professional lives,” he said.

He further raised concerns about campaign finance monitoring, asking, “Does the electoral management body have the machinery to track campaign expenditure? The answer is no. Unlike in developed societies where campaign spending can be monitored through newspaper advertisements, hotel bills, fuel consumption, radio and television airtime, such scrutiny is almost impossible here. What we claim to have is largely a self-delusion.”

According to Ojo, the development will breed a non-inclusive democracy that entrenches social stratification between the haves and the have nots.

“Those currently in government, whether in the Senate or the executive, feel compelled to amass wealth simply to survive the next election cycle. It is unfortunate that our democracy has descended to this level”, he added.

On the potential impact on future elections, Ojo warned that the masses would continue to withdraw from the political space.

“From 1999 to date, the gap between registered voters and actual voters has continued to widen. In the 2023 election, over 90 million Nigerians were reportedly registered, yet barely over 30 million voted. This represents a massive disengagement from democratic participation.”

He cautioned that “what emerges from this trend is a government that belongs to them, not to us. Such a government inevitably suffers from a legitimacy crisis, which is dangerous for democratic sustenance and consolidation.”

Ojo also predicted a worsening of vote buying. “With politicians able to deploy even larger sums of money, the inducement of voters becomes easier and more entrenched. Money will increasingly determine outcomes, further eroding the integrity of the electoral process,” he said.

On his part, the Head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Ilorin, Dr. Edun Abdulkareem, described it as dangerous to democracy.

He said: “It is not individual candidacy that generates this level of money. The real issue lies with political parties and their members. Candidates are expected to finance party supporters and loyalists, creating the impression that an individual must personally generate enormous resources to contest elections is wrong.”

He questioned the logic of the escalating costs.

Abdulkareem said the current trend promotes a “dangerous form of political development where public office becomes an investment venture. People contest elections not to serve, but to monetise policies, recoup investments and make returns. Those who invest heavily in politics must find ways to recover their money once they get into office. This is the foundation of systemic corruption.

“Those who cannot afford to participate are forced to step back. Communities that once had a stake in the political process are gradually excluded. Democracy becomes the preserve of a few, while the majority is reduced to spectators. This creates deep social, political, legal, and moral divisions within society.”

“Vote buying will increase. It may not take the same form as before, but it will be more sophisticated and more entrenched. The process will be driven by economic hardship and sustained by a political system that rewards money over merit.”

Lawmakers mandate e-transmission of election results

The House approved a proposal mandating the real-time electronic transmission of election results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to the IRev portal.

The approved clause 60(3) states that the “Presiding officer shall electronically transmit the results from each polling unit to the IREV portal in real time, and such transmission shall be done after the prescribed form EC8A has been signed and stamped by the presiding officer and/or countersigned by the candidates or polling unit agents, where available at the polling unit”.

The existing law does not mandate that the INEC transmit election results in real time.

Before the 2023 general elections, the INEC had promised that the results would be transmitted in real time.

The IReV portal was part of the technologies introduced by the INEC to ensure transparency and improve the integrity of the electoral process.

But the portal remained inactive for an extended period following glitches, even after voting was concluded at some polling units, prompting suspicion from many Nigerians.

The House also ratified a clause that would make the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) the primary accreditation tool during election.

The approved clause 47(2) reads: “To vote, the presiding officer shall use a bimodal voter accreditation system or any other technological device that may be prescribed by the commission for the accreditation of voters to verify, confirm or authenticate the particulars of the intending voter in the manner prescribed by the commission.

“Where a bimodal voter accreditation system or any other technological device deployed for accreditation of voters fails to function in any unit and a fresh BVAS or technological device is not deployed, the election in that unit shall be cancelled and another election shall be scheduled within 24 hours if the commission is satisfied that the result of the election in that polling unit will substantially affect the final result of the whole election and declaration of a winner in the constituency concerned.”

Civil society organisations, political parties and other stakeholders have hailed the approval on electronic transmission of results and mandatory use of BVAS in the conduct of elections, saying, it will engender transparency in the electoral process.

2-yr jail term, N5m fine for vote buyers, sellers

The House also approved far-reaching amendments to the Electoral Act, introducing stiffer penalties for vote buying and selling, including a minimum of two years’ imprisonment or a N5 million fine, or both, alongside a 10-year ban from contesting elections.

Under the amended Clause 22 (a and c), individuals involved in the buying or selling of votes and voter cards now face significantly tougher sanctions than previously provided, where penalties were capped at N500,000 or a maximum of two years’ imprisonment.

Lawmakers further amended the sanctions for presiding officers who deliberately breach procedures on counting, announcement, and transmission of polling unit results. A new Section 60(6) prescribes a minimum fine of N500,000 or at least six months’ imprisonment, or both, for any presiding officer who willfully contravenes the provisions.

The House also approved a clause mandating the release of election funds to INEC at least one year before a general election, in a bid to enhance early planning and efficient conduct of polls.

To curb electoral fraud, lawmakers increased penalties for multiple voter registration. Under the amended Clause 12(3), offenders now risk a minimum fine of N100,000 or at least one year’s imprisonment, or both.

Lawmakers also approved an amendment introducing a five-year jail term for presiding officers found guilty of declaring false results.

In another adjustment, the House extended the deadline for political parties to submit their list of candidates to INEC from 180 days to 210 days before an election, allowing the commission more time for processing.

The House further approved provisions allowing the use of electronically generated voter identification, including downloadable voter cards with unique QR codes, or any other identification prescribed by INEC, for voter accreditation and voting.

Clause seeking to criminalise delegates’ inducements rejected

Meanwhile, the lawmakers rejected a clause seeking to penalise inducements of delegates during primaries, congresses and conventions.

Clause 89(4) proposed that “A person that financially or materially induces a delegate for the purpose of influencing the outcome of party primaries, congresses and conventions commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment to a term of two years without an option of fine.”

However, lawmakers during the consideration of the clause raised concerns over the proposal, saying, it could be an entrapment for them.

They subsequently rejected the clause and asked that it should be deleted.

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has welcomed the adoption of the Electoral Act amendment by the House of Representatives mandating real-time electronic transmission of election results by the INEC, describing it as a major step toward restoring transparency and public confidence in the electoral process.

Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, in an interview with Daily Trust, said the decision reflected years of sustained advocacy by civil society groups aimed at strengthening accountability and credibility in elections.

He said: “This is something worthy of celebration, especially with the House of Representatives now adopting a position that civil society has canvassed for over time.

“With this amendment, the law is now empowering INEC to use technology, not as a matter of discretion. This will help reduce manipulation and lack of transparency in the transmission of results. Nigerians will now be able to track and monitor the process more effectively.”

In the same vein, a public affairs analyst, Dr. Sa’idu Ahmad Dukawa, said the increasing role of technology in governance and public administration makes the adoption of electronic result transmission inevitable.

“Technology can no longer be avoided in today’s world, and the earlier we embrace it, the better for our democratic system,” he said.

Dukawa, however, acknowledged that the initiative could face challenges, particularly Nigeria’s poor network infrastructure and concerns over possible infiltration or manipulation of results.

‘Why early voting, election timelines, other clauses were dropped’

The House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters explained why key proposals such as early voting, inmate voting, adjustment of election timelines and the replacement of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) were dropped from the Electoral Bill 2025.

chairman of the committee, Adebayo Balogun, who briefed journalists yesterday after the House concluded consideration of the bill, said the proposals failed to secure broad consensus among lawmakers and key stakeholders during the legislative process.

He explained that the bill was initially introduced as a repeal and re-enactment of the Electoral Act 2022 in order to introduce far-reaching reforms aimed at modernising Nigeria’s electoral system.

According to him, the committee, guided by stakeholders’ engagements, public hearings and expert submissions, proposed innovations including early voting, inmate voting, downloadable voter accreditation mechanisms to replace PVCs, and changes to electoral timelines.

However, he said deliberations at the level of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters revealed that the proposals did not command the support of a majority of lawmakers across both chambers.

“Many of these far-reaching proposals did not enjoy sufficient consensus among Members of the National Assembly and critical stakeholders,” he said.

He explained that under legislative practice, repealing an existing law and enacting a new one is only appropriate where proposed changes fundamentally alter the identity of the principal legislation.

“In this instance, because several of the provisions that would have occasioned such a fundamental transformation — such as early voting, inmate voting, removal of the PVC and changes to election timelines — were not approved at the committee stage, the House resolved that it was more appropriate to proceed by way of amendment rather than outright repeal of the Electoral Act 2022,” he said.

The committee chair stressed that the decision should not be interpreted as a setback to electoral reform, describing it instead as a reflection of democratic maturity and responsible lawmaking.

“This reflects the responsibility of Parliament to legislate in a manner that is inclusive, balanced and anchored on broad agreement,” he said, noting that courts generally focus on the effect of legislation rather than its label.

He said despite the rejection of some proposals, lawmakers introduced several meaningful amendments during clause-by-clause consideration of the bill in the Committee of the Whole, underscoring the importance attached to the reform process.

According to him, the Electoral Act 2022 remains one of Nigeria’s most progressive electoral laws, and the amendments contained in the Electoral Bill 2025 are meant to consolidate its strengths, close identified gaps and improve implementation without destabilising the existing legal framework.

He assured Nigerians that the committee conducted its work transparently, engaging widely with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, civil society organisations, political parties, professional bodies, development partners and citizens. (Daily Trust)

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